Architecture - We have suburban sprawls in the west that encourage isolated living, our architecture and public spaces focus too much on functionality rather than inspired places of aesthetic beauty that encourage communal presence. There's a really good TEDTalk on this from James Howard Kunstler. - https://www.ted.com/talks/james_howa...a?language=en#

Technology - We've been able to substitute personal socializing with digital socializing, I mean hell.. this place and forums such as reddit have served as a personal outlet of expression for myself for the better part of 10+ years.

Work and Responsibilities - I'm nearing my 30's now and what I've come to notice is people have less time outside of work and family, there's more debt and higher mortgages which means longer hours and more overtime. And if there's kids.. most people will retreat into suburban family life. Again, i think a very large factor here is our living spaces.. they allow people to isolate themselves and when you have technology such as the internet paired with streaming like NetFlix and online gaming it becomes the perfect conditions for it.

This is more of an issue in the west from what I've observed. There's this radical need for independence and expectation for you to 'make it on your own'.. often at the expense of social and family connections. In many other parts of the world, family comes first.. then friends, then work.